Features of the Style of the Letters of Bishop Theophan the Recluse: Lexical and Phraseological Aspects

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to analyze the characteristics of lexical terms in Russian texts from the perspective of lexical rhetoric. So the article analyzes the peculiarities of the vocabulary and phraseology of the letters from “Letters on the Christian Life” of the famous preacher, religious teacher Bishop Theophan the Recluse.

Results. Through the analysis of the selected specific vocabulary and idioms, we have obtained the following results. One of the distinguishing features of these epistolary texts is polystylism, which manifests itself in a free combination of vocabulary of foreign origin, colloquial words, and Church Slavonicisms. If borrowed vocabulary is used in a stylistically neutral function, then colloquial elements are stylistically marked and used in order to establish communication with addressees. Such vocabulary creates a kind of trusting relationship between the addresser and addressees. Phraseological units and constructions, which are author’s, occasional transformations of phraseological elements, serve the same purpose. Church Slavonic inclusions in letters are a kind of communicative fragments, intexts within letters, conditioned in thematic (definitions of theological concepts) and genre (quotations from the Bible and prayer addresses).

Conclusion. In summary, through this research, we can derive some new theories of linguistic application, and through it, we can enrich the interpretation of corpus and dictionaries.